Companies throughout the UK are battling a turbulent period of flux and disruption. There are multiple factors that are fuelling this change and operating at once, including the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, war in Ukraine and the impact from our evolving economic and political landscapes.
Following the UK Government’s Autumn Statement, the economy in 2023 looks set to still tread carefully across an unsteady tightrope. Meanwhile, rapid technological changes coupled with pressures to address the skills gap mean organisations look likely to face an altered landscape in 2023. No industry is immune to the tides of change and companies must recognise the ongoing need to adapt to retain their most talented individuals. However, in order to attract talent and keep a workplace productive, companies should consider that ‘upskilling’ and ‘gender inclusivity’ are more than just interesting buzzwords.
What is upskilling?
Upskilling is the idea that companies need to continuously provide employees at all levels of their operation with new skills and knowledge, especially those relating to digital skills. It has been well-documented that there is a shortage of IT skills that is having a knock-on effect on companies being able to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Upskilling offers an opportunity to overcome the digital skills gap and present key possibilities for gender inclusivity and looking ahead, career movers into tech continue to look positive. It has the potential to enable companies to help women progress and take on more challenging roles while solving problems in recruitment that the organisation might be facing. In this article, we will take a look at why gender inclusivity is an important factor to consider when you are actively upskilling your workforce.
Why is gender inclusivity a factor in upskilling?
We might think of upskilling as a gender-neutral topic but in many ways that simply is not the case. Traditionally, masculine roles still look for ways to upskill men as a priority, and often there is little thought put into how to attract women to new positions. Like the IT and finance industries, sectors have become predominantly ‘male’. Although ‘toxic masculinity’ that damages workplace culture is declining, stereotypes remain and undermine concerted efforts to achieve diversity, equality and inclusion in workplaces.
As the end of 2022 approaches, let’s therefore not forget the ‘break the bias’ theme of this year’s International Women’s Day. Ultimately, it means that if we don’t continue to make upskilling a gendered issue in 2023 and beyond, we are making things significantly more difficult for ourselves. The pandemic did disproportionately affect women in the workplace leading to a situation where more women were displaced from their jobs or had to put their careers on hold than men, so there is much to learn going forward.
Economic potential of combining skills with inclusivity
Perhaps one of the most important things to remember about upskilling and gender inclusivity is that they have a lot in common when it comes to offering incredible economic potential and gains. Having an underskilled workforce is a problem that is holding back any business suffering from it, likewise, failing to employ a good balance of female staff means you can be lagging behind competitors and losing out.
Significantly, then, if you have the opportunity to do something about upskilling your staff at the same time as promoting gender equality in the workplace, it is a win-win. This is something that businesses do need to take seriously. It could be contributing to why competitors are able to outpace your organisation.
Helping women succeed in male-dominated professions
There are plenty of sound economic and business reasons and successful initiatives that can help to foster greater inclusion for females in trade whether that comes down to having the skills or being included in decision-making processes. There are undoubtedly some professions that have become male-dominated, such as the finance, banking or IT sectors. Upskilling female staff with skills for roles in these trades could make it easier to recruit for these positions, and overcome gender inequality at the same time.
The careful use of language in business, for instance, is known to change behaviour and companies would do well to develop an inclusive language strategy. This should be implemented in job adverts, role descriptions and targeted recruitment campaigns that can make a difference in attracting women into roles that are considered ‘male’ in the traditional sense.
It has been well-documented, for example, that there is a huge shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers, which is making it difficult for companies to recruit the staff they need. But the fact is that there are many providers of driving courses available, which provide very open information about how long it takes to qualify as a driver.
Companies do not have an excuse if they have workers who could be interested in retraining for what is currently a very lucrative job opportunity. Too many businesses, however, will overlook women for this type of role but it isn’t traditionally seen as something that women do professionally.
Overcoming challenges for women in the workplace
One of the most commonly held challenges for women in the workplace is that of childbirth. While it is mandated by law that women cannot be punished or held back due to taking maternity leave, this somewhat hides the broader problem. Discriminating against women who want to have children is against the law.
But the law can’t protect women who do take maternity leave from missing out on connections with colleagues, network building and opportunities to advance their careers. This is something that businesses need to recognise and work towards different methods of counteracting it. One such possibility exists in terms of ensuring that women have the opportunity to upskill as they work.
It is well-known that women are drastically under-represented in STEM fields with the problem existing not only in employment but also in study. But beyond these well-publicised examples, there is also hidden gender inequality that exists across the workplace. The vast majority of these are a result of systematic and unconscious bias.
While annual campaigns have brought long-lasting awareness to the gender cause in every sector of society. The only way to overcome this kind of bias is by creating opportunities for training and upskilling for women, and also to encourage women to explore possibilities in fields that they might not usually consider.
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